UEFA Women's Europa Cup quarter-finals: Second legs preview

The four UEFA Women's Europa Cup quarter-final ties conclude with the second legs on Wednesday.

Häcken and Eintracht Frankfurt take significant leads to Breidablik and Nordsjælland, with the winners of those two ties playing each other in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Hammarby defend a 1-0 advantage at home to Sporting CP and Austria Wien host Sparta Praha after a goalless first leg.

Women's Europa Cup second legs: Wednesday

All times CET

Nordsjælland vs Eintracht Frankurt (18:00, first leg: 0-4)

Four-time European champions Frankfurt remain on course to win an inaugural UEFA women's club competition for the second time, following their 2001/2002 UEFA Women's Cup title, thanks to a dominant home performance. Rebecka Blomqvist scored twice and Nicole Anyomi got a goal and two assists.

"We really wanted to fly to Denmark in a good position and I think the first step worked out for us", was Frankfurt coach Nikolaos Arnautis' assessment, with his side the only team to have won every match in this new competition.

Nordsjælland, in only their second European season, face a tough task to turn things around in their debut quarter-final. But they will take confidence from the comebacks they have pulled off already this campaign, including trailing to both KuPS and Gintra in the qualifying rounds before progressing.

Hammarby vs Sporting CP (19:00, first leg: 1-0)

Hammarby will defend a narrow lead in their home leg; their victory through Emilie Joramo's second-half strike was particularly impressive considering the Swedish side are still in their domestic off-season and had several key players depart this winter.

The hosts' impressive win in Lisbon increased their hopes of progressing past another strong side after eliminating Brann and Ajax earlier this season.

"Just as Hammarby won here, we can win there," were the thoughts of Sporting coach Micael Sequeira after the first leg. The Portuguese side are playing at this stage of a UEFA tournament for the first time in their history but have already gained valuable experience, including eliminating Glasgow City 4-2 on aggregate after extra time in the round of 16, which will be crucial if they are to come back in this tie.

Häcken were the biggest first-leg winnersUEFA via Getty Images

Breidablik vs Häcken (19:00, first leg: 0-7)

It would take an unprecedented turnaround in Iceland for Häcken to be denied their first European semi-final, following a dominant performance in the first leg.

Felicia Schröder scored twice in a five-goal 15-minute spell in the first half of the home leg, though she was denied a hat-trick by having a late penalty saved.

The first leg was Häcken coach Elena Sadiku's first competitive game in charge of the Swedish champions since joining from Celtic, while Breidablik were also beginning life under a new coach, Ian Jeffs, who will hope for a positive home debut in the second leg.

Austria Wien vs Sparta Praha (19:30, first leg: 0-0)

One of these teams will be the first from their nation to reach a UEFA women's club competition semi-final, and the goalless opening leg has left this tie wide open.

Austria Wien captain Carina Wenninger, who marshalled the defence excellently in Prague, described the outcome as a "positive result to take into the second leg".

Sparta have the knowledge they progressed from their two previous ties despite not scoring at home in the first leg, so an intriguing concluding half to the tie lies ahead.